Fading From Forever
by Aeleus
Summary: After Bella has finally reached the beginning of her eternal forever with Edward she never thought there would be something else to try and prevent it, a presence that threatened to take her away from her angel forever.
1. Jacob: Blind Fury

**Disclaimer: Don't own the Twilight Series, if I did Breaking Dawn would have ended differently.**

This story will not all be in Jacob's perspective as every chapter is from a different character.

_Revelations_ is the next chapter, written in Edward's perspective.

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**Chapter One: **Blind Fury  
_Jacob's Perspective_

"Bella?"

As my eyes fell across the pale creature that stood only a few metres away I couldn't believe that the name I had spoken belonged to them; it was like if you named a lethal shark Fluffy, it just didn't fit. Bella never was perfect, but in a way that _was_ what made her perfect, what made her perfect to me and to everyone who ever met her. The clumsiness that absorbed her human life I knew was gone now she donned the albino skin of the vampire that with every movement she made, or will ever make will be perfect, no longer tainted by human imperfections. It _wasn't_ her. Bella was meant to be _human_ to have _flaws, _not be one of those so-called graceful bloodsuckers. It probably wasn't just the fact that she was now immortal that bothered me- no, it was also the fact that she was now one of _them_, a _Cullen._

"Jake, it's not what you think..." Bella whispered to me, her voice quiet as if she was frightened to speak to me. The soothing tone she bubble-wrapped her words in sounded strange next to the sickly perfect peal of her bell-like voice. Everything about her was just so _wrong_, if I hadn't already crafted an image of what she would look like as a vampire beforehand I probably wouldn't have recognised her at all- that was if her _boyfriend_ wasn't there, hovering around her like always. I probably should have at that point just stalked off into the forest depths leaving them to inhabit the meadow we had gathered in, especially when I found myself clenching my fists with anger.

_'Control yourself, I can't phase in front of Bella.'_

As I contemplated this thought and fought with myself trying to keep the calm front active I noticed a small smirk curl tug at the corners of her perfect-at-everything vampire boyfriend, just thinking of his_ name_ threatened to push me near and off the edge of my self-control. I began to flex my fingers in a recurring motion from open to fist in a bid to keep the anger at bay, my eyes closing during this meditating period to give me an extra effort to keep my emotions in check, but even this couldn't stop the anger from silently working its way through my body, and the fact that I knew the smirk was growing with each second that past didn't help.

_'I'm going to rip you apart for this,' _I thought, my eyes only just beginning to open as the idea produced a wash of peace to temporarily allow me to completely ignore any rage I felt. Perhaps it was the desire to kill the bronze-haired male that made a smile flicker on my face momentarily, but when I glanced over at Bella and saw a similar facial expression to my own I knew she was thinking that I was going to let this all go. Like _that _was ever going to happen. She then began to approach me leaving the Cullen behind, but all that done was give him the lease to do whatever he wanted, and that was to pull back what was a small smirk into a wide grin that threatened to split his face in two- which I would have loved to see- offering me the message of _'I would like to see you try'_ in response to the thought of mine he must have read.

_Stupid mind reading bloodsuckers._

"Jake..." Bella said again, the shockingly white hand reaching out to for mine as she spoke. I don't know whether it was the icy temperatures her skin radiated or the fact she was now a vampire that repulsed me from this contact, my instincts reeling back my hand to my chest as if I had been suddenly electrocuted. It did hurt as I saw the pain flood into her eyes from my rejection, but I couldn't concentrate on that right now. I had to concentrate on not losing it before I cared about anything else. If it had not been for her there I probably would have already let my instincts tip to the animal side of me and consequently lunge at the smirking vampire without a second thought, knowing that nothing in the world would give me more pleasure to rip him limb from limb so I would never have to endure his silent mocking ever again. But as always, I couldn't. Instead I unleashed this frustration upon Bella without meaning to, my words sounding sharper than intended as I clenched my teeth together.

"Get away from me Bella," I growled, sending out a warning for her to back off just in case the time that I snapped came about anytime soon. I knew there wasn't long until it happened if the situation stayed like this- even if he didn't _say_ anything his expression spoke a thousand times more, irritating me further and severely beginning to test my emotional limits. The last thing I wanted was for Bella to become the victim in all of this- if I was going to have to hurt someone here then it would definitely be Edward or myself, I couldn't bare it if I just even grazed her skin with my claws.

"Jake... don't be like that..." she soothed, her eyes yearning to reach out and touch me. Another time I would have been ecstatic to be gifted with her presence let alone her touch, but right now I didn't really want either. At least not with her lover there, especially when he seemed to have a 'command' over her. Perhaps it was some stupid vampire rule that she had to answer to him- or rather this was the scenario I decided to delude myself with- from him creating her and all that. I didn't like believing the other reason that she actually done it out of _love_ for the bloodsucker.

"Do as he says, Bella," Edward said in a simple tone, sounding almost triumphant as she turned to give him a weary look before ultimately scuttling back to his side like some pathetic little poodle. He kept the grin from his previous victory on his face for me to see up until the exact moment where Bella looked at him, forcing my face to screw up in disgust as he instantly adopted a more concerned look to enhance his caring facade. If it wasn't for the fact that I was glad that the space had grown between me and Bella then I might have acted differently to just standing there, ignoring the confused look upon her face as I scowled at the arm he snaked around her waist, almost as if he were protecting her from me. As _if_ she needed protecting from me, _he_ was the one he drank her blood like a cocktail after all.

_'Don't get too comfortable there, Cullen. I'm not letting you hurt Bella again.'_

I must have hit a nerve there since he instantly released Bella from his trap and took a few short steps towards me, hiding his facial expression from what I guessed would soon be his bride.

_Ugh. His bride._

"I would never hurt her, dog. You however, are a different story," he snarled in a low voice, obviously speaking within the octaves that I could hear but Bella could not, despite her newly enhanced senses. I should have been more prepared for the onslaught he was about to give me but when you are blinded by pure fury you find that only the bad stuff registers, and that you are defenceless to their relentless accusations. "I don't want you in her life anymore. You are a walking danger to us, and do nothing but hurt Bella when you are around. Luckily for you however, we will be leaving for Alaska in the upcoming months to attend college there, so the separation will not be as hard on you."

A growl rampaged in my throat as I gave it no pass to leave my mouth, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of my ever-growing anger towards him. I finally snapped as he spoke he set his next comments upon me, the fact that it was an undeniable truth sparking my phasing, the tan shorts I had been wearing soon littering upon the floor as threads from where they had ripped at my wolf legs. When I left for my forest run I hadn't decided to take spares with me- I hadn't gotten used to just taken them off before phasing that it never occurred to bring anymore. Billy was probably not going to be happy, but right now I couldn't lay aside even an ounce of concern for it, my eyes instead narrowing upon my target, his smile now drawn out due to my phasing reaction to is words. All I could think about was what he had said- a truth I could hide but never properly get rid of.

_I was more of a danger to Bella than he was- and I wasn't even some freak with fangs._

"You know i'm right. Just leave now so I don't have to put a leash on you," Edward said in a clearly mocking tone, speaking the threat only to get another reaction from me, to prove him right. This was another time when I should have been more well prepared but instead I acted exactly as he wanted me to, my legs slipping easily into the all too familiar offensive stance. I didn't even seem to care much now at how Bella had now appeared upon his arm and was tugging on it much like a little child would do her father, her pitiful pleading not even receiving a response from the jeering vampire as his eyes were just egging me on, baiting me to do something that I would regret.

"Edward, stop it! If you hurt him, I swear..!" Bella cried, not even finishing off the hollow threat with some sort of lame consequence. She uttered a light squeal as she found herself pushed to the side with the flat of his forearm, once again opening up the distance between the two duellers and the fair maiden. I snorted as I watched her expression almost drive her to complete confusion, her eyes lost between who she would support should a confrontation begin. However I wasn't about to deny the fact that her eyes did linger more upon the more human-like of us, his freakish features still holding the charm for her even when he had feasted upon her like a lollipop.

"What's the matter, _mutt_?"

Up until that last remark I had considered being the bigger man- or wolf- and simply leaving the meadow, just so that he wouldn't get the triumph of enticing me into his little game. Of course he would still win in a sense that I would be the one walking away and it did eat me up because of it, but it couldn't be helped. Whatever might have happened didn't even matter now, not when I was already soaring through the air with one kick of my legs at him, my claws reaching out in anticipation of tearing the skin right off his bones. As soon as I drew near I lashed out in repeated swipes with my claws before finishing with my teeth sinking into the shoulder, the blood that was filling my mouth enough to force my mouth away after the initial bite. I pinned down my victim easily with my weight and held a triumphant glint in my eye until I finally looked up to see Bella's reaction to the scene, and seeing Edward's instead. My eyes travelled slowly down to the limp body underneath me and caused me instantly to recoil, my paws freeing the vampire that had fallen victim to my anger.

_Bella._

I could have sworn that everything around me had frozen for a few moments as I stared numbly at the bleeding body of Bella, her eyes fixated within the wide, shocked expression she had last held as I blindly attacked. Edward seemed more overwhelmed than I was since he just stood there, his whole body unmoving even when I padded over to her; a whimper escaping as my nose lightly nudged the palm of her hand despite the cold temperatures she responded with. I couldn't deny the relief I felt as she gently closed her hand around the bridge of my nose and rolled her head to the side to meet mine, her eyes having since recovered from the initial shock and instead settled into what I could only describe as a strange sense of tranquillity. How she could be like that was beyond me, especially when her blood was now progressing in staining the torn, jade satin that was covering her body.

"Hey Jake..." she murmured, a weak smile forming upon her lips, ignoring the blood that was painting them from the diagonal scars I had created across her cheek. I laid down close to her to act as a cushion for her, hoping that in this futile act she might think of it as my apology, or at least attempt to fool myself that she was thinking just that. I kept my gaze focused upon the dull, scarlet eyes of this female vampire despite the way they chilled me to the core- I didn't want to risk moving mine in the slightest for fear that my own would once again fill with the images of her bloodied body. However as I dedicated my time to this fruitless staring effort I didn't register the now unfrozen body of Edward advance, it wasn't until after I fell to the base of a nearby tree that I realised he had been there at all. I did think that he must have hit me quite hard since I opened my eyes to a completely black slate, it wasn't until my vision announced a slight shift that I realised I was just in fact staring into the dark brown hair of my protector.

"Bella! Oh, Bella why did you do that!"

Her body rose from the body cradled in the arms of Edward with no concern of where that left me, my eyes instinctively squinting so not to let the strands of hair poke at them- not that I didn't deserve this minor form of torture for what I had made her do. My attention was drawn from my own self-loathing for a few moments as a small battle ensued between the pair hovering only a few inches above me, my gaze watching through a veil of confusion as Bella struggled against his grip until she fell on me, reminding me of a pain in my ribs I hadn't even realised was there in the first place.

"I'm sorry about hitting you Jake," she spoke with sincerity, actually truly sorry that she had fell on me, even when she was far worse off. Sure I had a dislocated shoulder and I could feel that about four of my ribs had broken but that was only a small fraction to the injuries she possessed. I couldn't even understand why she wasn't angry at me- she just genuinely seemed to radiate nothing but concern for someone who had just had their teeth into her earlier. No matter how much she tried to reason with me that I hadn't done anything I couldn't see myself allowing me to be near her at this time- I had hurt her, I had proved Edward right. I gingerly rose to my feet after an initial collapse, a pain that had laid dormant in my back leg bringing itself into the spotlight as I tried to use it, the broken bones rubbing painfully against each other as I put weight upon it. If I didn't have such a strong urge to get away from my victim then I probably wouldn't have been able to find movement at all, the image of Bella's rag doll body plaguing my mind whether my eyes remained open or closed; I just couldn't be allowed to escape it. I did turn to make my leave- much to Edward's obvious happiness- but something tugged at my leg, luckily the hand that was pulling me back clutching at the merely bruised of the pair. The owner of such a hand then spoke in what I had to strain my ears to hear, hardly even being able to be classified as a whisper as it only just barely brushed past her lips.

"Don't go Jake, i'm fine," she said, a determined smile breaking past the agony she clearly must be experiencing. Bella then began to push her frail limbs in a bid to get upright, her hands reaching out to the tree I had left in order to keep her balance under her own control and not fall back to the ground. She did manage the feat which no other human would probably able to accomplish under the same condition she was in, her body while relying heavily on the strength in her arms upon the thick trunk. However it didn't take long until even her own will and determination was not enough to keep her standing, her form now beginning to sway with Edward waiting in the wings, ready to catch her when the time arose; but it didn't. For some reason even when she was leaning to fall directly into his arms at the last minute as if she decided it to happen she ended up on me instead, her hands swimming with my russet coloured fur as she sighed in content and uttered a light, hearty laugh.

"I'm so clumsy aren't I?" She said, her head resting in the small dip between my shoulder blades after shuffling herself to a more comfortable position. I shot a look at Edward to emphasise my next warning as he began to advance upon the quiet body laying on my back, my thoughts being my only means of conversation at the current time. Luckily for me he just happened to be a mind reader, otherwise all the times when I was thinking of destroying him he might have otherwise missed.

_'Back off Edward, she's fine where she is. Just take me to Carlisle.'_

To my surprise he did what I asked of and turned to lead me through the dense forest towards what I assumed to be the hospital, his pace noticeably slower in a bid to somewhat match my own lopsided run. I wasn't deluded enough that I thought he was doing it for both of us; I know for a fact that if Bella hadn't have been involved I would probably have ended up as a fur coat he presented to her for Christmas or something. When the first hint of the sterile white building came into view just over the next group of trees I dug in my heels and abruptly froze, taking care that my sudden decision to stop didn't jostle her already critical wounds. Did he really think I had lost my mind enough that I would just waltz in through the front doors as a wolf and get attacked by some passing nurse? In any case I wasn't planning to go along with it and instead took it upon myself to veer off to the back of the building without his guidance, managing to come across a door that must have been accidentally left open. This luck seemed to continue as it opened up to an empty hallway and then lead to a pair of jeans poking out of a duffel bag outside an empty room, grabbing them in my teeth just as Edward caught up. The door easily moved with my nose and opened to a space for me to change, padding quietly inside with Bella still on my back (after growling at Edward for trying to follow me) and phasing back into my human form and pulling on the jeans I had picked up along on the way. Crouching down I gathered her fragile body carefully into my arms ignoring the unwanted pressure on my broken ribs before re-entering the corridor where Edward was waiting, the atmosphere saturated with his impatience as he snarled at the fact I was now holding her close to me and he wasn't. I didn't let him linger on this minor aspect for long as I simply pushed past him and began to make my own way before he once again took up his title as guide and led me through the numerous corridors that dwelt within this monstrous building. We ended up moving at a speed that was inhumanely possible in our joint desire to get Bella to Carlisle, causing many visitors, nurses and doctors to cry in surprise as papers got thrown into the air from our passage, standing stunned as they tried to decipher what the two blurs that passed was. It was a rather risky thing to do since we were basically screaming to everyone that we weren't human, but luckily the faulty human vision seemed to balance this decision somewhat, and merely leave them wondering what could have happened.

When we neared the doctor's office Edward gave caution to the wind and increased his speed down the 100m separating them, the corridor at this current time remaining luckily empty as he took the door clear off its hinges and held it in his hands as I followed soon after, the door being put roughly back into the frame without even a scratch upon the outside surface. Carlisle looked up at us rather bewildered from the commotion we created but his medical instincts instantly zeroed in on Bella and quickly directed me to his desk, where I slipped Bella's weight onto one of my arms while I roughly swung my other across the mahogany surface to clear it before placing her gently upon the makeshift examining table. I sat upon the leather chair situated behind the desk and sat my gaze upon her completely silent body, her need to breathe obviously non-existing since her change but not as convenient in telling me whether she was alive or not still. For all I know I had been carting a dead body on my back for the last twenty minutes or so. I glanced up at the words of "What happened?", my cheeks burning as I watched Edward's eyes drift over to mine as if he were saying "He did it", obviously leaving out the part that only the visible injuries I could be blamed for; any of the internal like broken bones was his fault.

"Just shut up and help her already!" I ended up shouting after a few minutes even though the only words actually spoken were those of Carlisle, the rest of the conversation had remained entirely one sided thanks to Edward's telepathy and a series of nods and shakes. The adrenaline from everything that had happened amounted to an astonishing high which gave it free reign on my emotional control, allowing my irritation to just flicker upon my expression and break the unnerving silence. If anything I just wanted the blond vampire to just reassure me that Bella actually hadn't departed into the afterlife- whatever that may be- just yet, and to calm my inner demons just that little bit more.

As Carlisle gave a curt nod in my direction he began to examine the limp body of Bella over, my posture reclining as he pulled back one of the frayed pieces of material covering the shoulder would and prodded it gently, the teeth marks perfectly defined in the pale flesh of her body. He then moved on to the odd shapes protruding from her chest, his head shaking slightly as this time it was Edward's turn to cringe for what he had contributed. The bronze-haired vampire then gestured for me to join him in the corridor which I only all too happily complied with, my mind already tormented by smelling the blood I had spilt. However the instant we left the office- after taking the door off and then replacing it- I was suspended in the air with Edward's hand gripped around my throat, my eyes just staring at his own enraged topaz spheres, knowing that whatever was going to happen next I did deserve. Not that Edward shouldn't receive the same treatment, but I was far too wrapped up in the punishment that should be bestowed on me that I didn't care.

"However you are now you should be feeling a thousand times worse for what you did to Bella," he snarled, his words seething with a pure, undeniable hate that enunciated with every syllable. As if to add further emphasis he pulled me away from the wall and slammed me back with a force that cracked the bricks behind the paint and plaster, the pain that sparked at the base of my spine because of it now snaking up the contours of my back and once again highlighting pains from previous events. If I only had a few broken ribs, a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder at first then I believe I was blessed back then- especially when the malice in his eyes told the story of someone who very much wanted to hurt me so much more. He leaned in close at that point, his icy breath chilling me to the core as he drew ever closer to my ear. "Be lucky that Bella treasures your heartbeat Jacob Black, because I certainly do not."

At the end of his sentence something sharp punctured the skin of my neck, my eyes widening as Edward drew back, two streams of blood trailing down past his bottom lip. As soon as his grip released my neck I fell in a heap upon the floor, my back relying heavily on the wall behind for support as I looked wearily up at what Bella often called her angel, the hatred he felt for me clear as it just seemed to seep from him with every action he made. I did brace whatever in my body had not yet lost connection with my instruction but nothing more came of his onslaught, instead he merely left me there, taking the door from its hinges once again and replacing it just as we had a few minutes before. However in the split second before the door blocked my vision of Bella on the desk I could have sworn that I saw a beautiful brown colour underneath the flickering eyelids, the very same colour that she adorned in her human life. But of course, there was just one thing wrong with that.

_Bella was now a vampire._

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**A/N: **_I will probably only write chapters from Bella's, Edward's and Jacob's viewpoints, because I always deemed them to be the main characters in the series and plus if I suddenly wrote one from Alice's or Jasper's it probably wouldn't make much sense because this story doesn't really involve the rest of the Cullen family._

Please review, even if it is that you didn't really like it; criticism is one of the best things for a writer to receive after all.


	2. Edward: Revelations

**Chapter 2:** Revelations  
_Edward's Perspective_

Perhaps I should haven't let myself be blinded by the petty relationship Jacob and Bella shared that night, maybe I would have acted with more rationality if I had. Of course I wasn't the one that initially attacked Bella but I was as to blame as much as Jacob was; I was the one baiting him after all, trying to get him to do something so that Bella wouldn't trust him anymore. I _should_ have prevented it; it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Bella shouldn't be laying upon a hospital bed because of my actions- the consequences should have been _mine_. This was also emphasised by the pure fact every single member of my family- apart from Esme and Carlisle of course- told me the same thing, perhaps not to my face but it wasn't exactly hard for me to know what they were thinking. Both Carlisle and Esme seemed to have absolutely no views on the matter, but I think that they were just keeping their minds else where so to not hurt me. It wasn't like it mattered however; the guilt still danced around me no matter what my adoptive parents tried to do and nothing at all could deny the fact that I had hurt her.

_I had hurt Bella._

_'Come on Edward, you know you didn't mean to hurt her,' _Alice's thoughts said to me, taking precautions even in her own mind as to not let her real emotions slip past. She was just trying to help me but I found I couldn't appreciate it- it was like I was just this one large black hole and anything that anyone said, thought or did to me didn't matter. Even now I could feel her concerned gaze fixated upon me through the glass separating her in the corridor from me at Bella's bedside, my head still buried within my hands since Bella had been moved here a few days ago.

"Go away Alice," I mumbled through my fingers, unintentionally speaking in a tone that was much harsher than usual, even when I know she was just worried about me. I hadn't even spoken for the last few days- I only spoke now for her benefit so she might settle down for a while and not carry on thinking that I had become comatose. Even though I couldn't decipher her feelings like Jasper can I could easily tell that she was hurt by my response, but even when she voiced this aloud in her thoughts I still couldn't bring myself to care, I was far too wrapped up in my own self-misery to do that. Plus any of the concern that managed to squeeze past my emotional defense laid with the motionless figure next to me. It wasn't always like this but over the first few hours most of my family came to realise that for no matter how long they talked to me I wouldn't respond, and now it was only Carlisle that made any effort to try and keep a conversation going. I guess the reason why I chose him to sometimes reply to was for the fact he was the one that was helping Bella now while all I could do was sit and wait, the fact that he was a respected doctor being highly useful in this instance since i'm pretty sure I gave up on the illusion of human breathing a long time ago. I couldn't even remember the last time I blinked; I just stared constantly at Bella through my fingers and that was it.

Carlisle came walking in at that very moment and began the routine procedure of glancing underneath the bandages upon her shoulder to examine his stitching before proceeding onto prodding gently at her chest to assess the recovery of the couple of ribs I had broken. I knew that vampires healed at a rate that was in no way comparable to humans but it still didn't calm my nerves, especially when she had yet to wake up yet. He knew that I could account for every single aspect that Bella's body partook in since I never left her side.

"Still no change?" He questioned me, his pen flashing across her chart as he wrote down his thoughts on her healing.

"She spoke again. The same thing as before, over and over-"

"Edward don't!" Bella's subconscious suddenly interjected, her pleading repeating over and over as I was certain she remembered the events of a few days prior. "Edward...please..." Her voice trailed off into silence in the same place as all the other times, right after the second time she spoke my name, as if it were of great hardship to do so. It made my heart darken with each time her nightmares happened, knowing that I was the cause of her bad dreams and there was nothing I could do to stop them, or sooth her. Even my very touch upon her hand threw her into screams if I tried, so in the end I just gave up and submitted into the clutches of my depression, allowing them to tighten around my throat just that little bit more.

"Is she ever going to wake up?" I asked out of pure misery, my voice sounding desperate as I yearned for the answer that she would be soon, even though I knew it would only be the exact same reply as the hundreds of times I had asked before. "It's been three days now... vampires are meant to have fast recovery systems..."

"We do, Edward," Carlisle began, his voice remaining in the same calm demeanor it was always in when he was talking with me, his words chosen with care as if I were nothing more than a child. His matter-of-fact tone ate away at my hopeful desires as he carried on, my eyes darkening just that little bit more because of the extra strain my turbulent emotions were creating. "But you have to remember these are not ordinary scrapes, these wounds are from werewolves. You have to be patient with her Edward."

"I'm sorry Jake... I couldn't help it..." Bella murmured, her sudden change in words drawing both Carlisle's attention and mine to her. This was one of the only times when against his own self-control Carlisle did something he tried to prevent, his thoughts slipping to how this new apology that had worked into my sleeping angel's conversation would affect me. It was also the first time he had stopped thinking about the medical dictionary, no longer reciting each word and definition from it in alphabetical order- something that had caused me a long time ago to stop listening to his thoughts no matter how curious I was about Bella's condition.

_'I wonder how Edward is going to take this; surely she is apologising for him to Jacob about what happened.'_

Even when I knew Carlisle was just concerned about me all this done was make me slip further into my despair, my head soon finding my hands while my eyes peered out to Bella to initiate my staring once again. I focused rigidly upon her motionless body and left no thoughts as to voice my answer to his concern, my ears soon listening to his fading footsteps before the click of the door was heard. That was when _their_ thoughts began. It was a bit jumbled at first, but Esme soon found her voice and spoke as soon as he closed the door behind him, her eyes flickering briefly to me with a worried look on her face. She had been thinking I might go to the Volturi if something went wrong only to be squashed by her own inner arguments, believing that I would never do anything stupid like that again.

_Of course I was thinking of doing something that stupid again. If Bella was destined to die, then so was I._

"How is he?"

"Much the same. If Bella wakes up i'm sure he'll be fine, but if it isn't soon I fear he may have to be forced into hunting; even though he doesn't need to feed everyday the emotional strain he is being put through is burning up energy rapidly, and his eyes are darkening with every hour that passes." His description of myself did earn my attention for a few moments as I vaguely listened to his words, my thoughts beginning to wonder how they would force me to hunt, I doubt I would let them take me from Bella. However it was then that I re-processed the whole conversation and came across the doubt of my angel's rousing- this voiced possibility that she might not ever wake up enough to separate my body from the largely uncomfortable hospital chair to the left of the bed and to the corridor where my family were still conversing.

"What do you mean _if_, Carlisle?" I demanded, my voice producing a raw anger I hadn't felt since I was holding Jacob in my grasp. Alice tried to calm me down slightly my pulling lightly on the sleeve of my ivory jumper but I gave even less notice to this than I gave to the strange looks I was receiving from the humans further up the corridor, instead deciding upon creating even more of a scene and repeating my question, but in a louder voice this time. "What do you mean **_if_**, Carlisle?"

"It is merely a word, Edward. It is impossible for me to say when she should be waking u-"

Carlisle didn't get the chance to explain fully as my eyes wandered back to the bedside and found the sheets no longer encapsulating my angel, her body no where to be seen within the small private room she had been placed thanks to his reputation at the hospital. The door lay ripped aside from the frame as I ignored the human trait of opening using the handle and sped inside, my fear growing with each second that passed as I began to search every single place that the room provided. I soon found her within the bathroom staring at the mirror with what I could only describe as an unsure look upon her face, calling my arms to cradle her waist with just a simple look; a dazzling look.

"Do you love me, even though i've changed?" Bella suddenly asked, my head already leaning towards her neck as I gave her a light shake, drawing both our attentions to the couple staring at us in the mirror.

"I will love you always Bella, no matter what happens." I was just about to kiss the back of her neck when a wolf's cry broke out in a soft whine, her arms instantly pushing mine away as she raced to the window and stared worriedly out of it, as if she were expecting to see Jacob from the second storey window of the hospital. My arms instinctively made their way around her waist as I joined her at the watching post, one of my hands soon releasing from the other to brush through her hair in a soothing way, much like a mother would do her concerned child.

"He's not here, love. Jacob left a few hours after we arrived," I murmured, pressing my lips to the spot between her shoulder blades in an extra aid to comfort her. I did know for a fact this did only supply her with a hint of truth, since I did neglect to mention that I sank my fangs into his neck and poisoned him with my venom. She didn't need his fate to worry about as well as her own. "He didn't want to stay."

"He...didn't?" Her voice was faltering now as she turned her head to the side and buried it in my chest, her eyes peering up at me through her fingers. "Did Carlisle get to look at him at least?"

I didn't get given the time to answer her question as the wolf cried out again in a longer, drawn out whine- almost as if it were calling to us directly- when Bella began to tremble, her head burying further until her expression was fully hidden from me. What I didn't know however was that she wasn't trying to block it out, in fact I only realised once I was laying on my back on the floor and Bella ran straight past me into the corridor that she was instead plotting against me, and didn't want her emotions to give her away. I didn't stay down for long as I performed a light flip back onto my feet and soon chased after Bella, just managing to wrap my arms around her and force her to stop before she got too near the open corridor window. She squirmed in protest as I lifted her easily so her feet dangled a few inches off the ground to prevent another escape, her body soon shifting in my grasp until her knees rested against my chest while her back lay supported by my hands.

"Bella," I said calmly, completely ignoring the fact that my family had all rose from their seats at that point from the commotion. "You can't just rush out at every howl. How can you tell if it is Jacob or not?"

"How can you tell me that it isn't?" She snapped, her expression growing angrier by the second.

"I can't."

"Then let me go."

"No."

"Why?" She snarled, the enraged noise she made sounding strange from her lips.

"Because I can't bear to think that I might lose you again," I whispered, my gaze dropping from her's in my guilt. I knew I was being selfish by trying to keep her here, but I couldn't seem to let her go- moreover I _couldn't_ make myself let her go. We remained quiet for a few moments as we just stood locked in place with Bella still balanced on my chest, neither of us wanting to break the awkward silence that ensued. She gazed after her finger with an innocent expression as she traced a line from my cheek down to my neck, her breath curling upon my ear as she leaned in close to speak, not daring to go above a whisper.

"I love you."

I felt a light peck on my neck as I was suddenly thrown backwards into Emmett; her legs having used my chest as an aid to back flip gracefully from my grip and effectively push me a distance that was just enough to let her make it through the window in under a couple of seconds. My family shared my confusion from the sudden turn of events apart Alice, the normal look she held telling me she knew this would happen yet she purposely pushed the vision telling her this from her mind so I would not expect it. If she was going to play that game, then she would have to pay for the consequences.

"Alice?" I said in a relatively calm manner, still luckily held in place my Emmett's hands on my shoulders from when I fell. "You know i'm going to kill you don't you?"

She smiled and shook her head, her reply sounding as optimistic as usual despite my obvious anger with her. "I love you too, Edward." She then turned to Emmett and pointed out his grip holding me in place before skipping over to where Jasper sat and seated herself on his lap, the smile still shining in all its entirety. "She's with Jacob."

If I had been in more control of my emotions at that point I probably would have done either one of two things; one, follow Bella out of the window and wherever they may be and kill him or two, murder Alice for letting her go before taking off after Bella and killing the dog. Either way I was going to get him out of the picture, and this time I wasn't going to be kind and leave him with just a little bite on his shoulder. However as it was Jasper seemed to be sharing the same grin that Alice was and I instantly knew he was unleashing his 'happy' vibe on me, and as such I didn't feel the necessary rage in order to murder anyone at the current time. So instead I turned to Carlisle and Esme who had remained silent all this time, their parental concern obvious in their posture but not in their serene expressions.

"I have to go after her."

"Do whatever you have to do Edward, but remember her feelings before you do something," Esme spoke lovingly, making me truly appreciate for her unconditional endearment. "We won't be far away if you need us."

"Nothing comes without sacrifice, Edward," Carlisle added, his arm extending around Esme's shoulders showing the unbreakable bond that they shared, the same as I shared with Bella. I nodded in reply and just as I reached the window to jump out of Alice piped up again, jumping from Jasper's lap as if she just suddenly remembered something.

"Jasper can go with you," she said, momentarily pausing my exit.

"I'm going alone, Alice."

"If Edward wants to go alone-" Jasper began, his expression displaying his apology for Alice's pushy nature, a frown forming on her lips because of his disapproval.

"Jasper **will** go with you," she corrected, stepping onto the balls of her feet in order to whisper something in his ear before looking at me and smiling once again.

"Fine. Come on Jasper," I gave in, knowing that there was no way to disagree with her if she truly willed it to happen. Even if she hadn't seen the outcome already she would get her own way anyway- that could be classified as one of her gifts as well.

"Sorry Edward," Jasper murmured as we landed together at the side of the hospital, his expression apologetic as he fell silent, all his effort spent on trying to keep up with me as I weaved in between the forest. I was somewhat glad Alice had pushed Jasper on me- with his ability active around me the murderous intent I had ebbing away with each second that passed. Jasper slowly fell behind as I upped my pace, the anger he had dutifully been keeping back once again taking hold as a familiar voice rang out from the clearing just ahead.

"Stop! Let me help!"

I took refuge in a tree overlooking the small clearing as my ears filled once again with my angel's voice, but the scene that I watched after was far from as comforting as Jasper joined me.

"Jake, stop moving!"

The shaggy haired male turned to look at her with a mild concern in his eyes, his thoughts going laced with worry as she continued to dance around him. "Bella, you should still be in hospital-" I felt a surge of tranquility rush in to battle the ever growing anger as Jasper calmly laid a hand on my shoulder, his gifts soon quelling the need for me to jump down from the branch and massacre the man. "I'm fine, I heal faster than normal people, remember?"

He broke into a jolly laugh that soon changed into a coughing fit, his hand instantly reaching for his chest as a pain glazed over his eyes. I deemed the culprit to be that one of his broken ribs must have punctured a lung from the sight, the many years of free study while not teaching me enough to match Carlisle's extensive knowledge helping at this time.

"You don't heal that fast Jake, I mean look at you! You haven't even seen Carlisle have you?" She fretted, her hand soon replacing the one he held on his chest, her mouth curving into a tiny frown as she listened to a melody she would never be able to play again. "I wish you weren't so stubborn Jake, you really should see someone. I bet if I asked Carlisle to-"

"No Bella, there's no need," he interrupted with an expression I couldn't describe- his eyes drifting to the very tree I was hiding within.

_'Is there Edward?'_

I cursed lightly under my breath as his thoughts echoed within my head, my gaze lingering upon Jasper as I debated what to do next. It was clear that our appearance wasn't as secret as I originally thought- it seems that while we had managed to stay hidden from Bella it wasn't enough to escape Jacob and his animal senses. I swung my legs over the branch and landed softly upon the ground with Jasper following soon behind, the minute noise we made as our feet made contact with the earth drawing Bella's attention to us. It was times like this that made me wish that Bella was still human; sneaking around required much less effort.

"Edward?" Her question lingered in the silence unanswered, her eyes flickering between me and Jasper. I watched as her mouth pulled back into an expression that wasn't the usual happiness that she greeted me with, her normal smile replaced with a frown as she spoke again. "Why are you here?"

"I was worried Bell-"

"So you thought Jake might hurt me?" Bella interrupted, her face contorting in anger. She turned away from me after a few moments of silent glaring but I could still see a faint tremor sweep across her shoulders. Was she hurt by what I said?

"Bella, I didn't mean anything by it," I reasoned, my hand tracing random patterns down the contours of her back as I kissed her neck lightly to a quiet gasp. Bella rested her hand on my cheek in reply and with that I thought I had been forgiven- how wrong I was. She maneuvered herself in my arms and cupped her face lightly in her hands, speaking in an octave that would confirm our secrecy from the werewolf and other vampire present. As she finished speaking and stepped away I couldn't help but stand shocked at her words, my eyes gazing numbly at the sad smile fixed upon her face.

"Look after Jake for me," she said in a louder tone, her eyes briefly flickering to Jasper and Jacob before settling once again on mine.

"I love you," I whispered, my eyes yearning to fill with tears that could never fall.

"I know," she replied, the sad smile lifting slightly at my statement. Her eyes glazed over with a watery film that I sorely wished I could mimic, my frozen expression reflected back to me from the rippling surface. She waited for a few minutes more in the silence before turning and disappearing into the forest, her image quickly disappearing from sight as she ran.

"Edward? Where is Bella going?" Alice asked as she burst through the trees a few seconds later after Bella disappeared, the rest of my family lining up beside Jasper who had since taken refuge under the tree, not within it. The fact that she asked me surprised me from my numbed mindset, especially since she was probably no where near Jacob when Bella decided to leave.

"Bella... Bella is just going to visit some friends," I mumbled, the words having a hard time forcing their way past the lump in my throat Bella had caused. Everybody's thoughts instantly zeroed on me from their previously different directions, with Alice's jumbled thoughts sounding the most distressing out of the ones I could decipher.

_'What did you do Edward?!'  
'Bella just left without telling me...'  
'Why would she do that to me?'  
'I thought being a vampire was all she wanted...'  
'Why can I not see her!!'_

There was however one more thought that stood out along with the flusters of Alice, which was those of Jasper currently curling his arms around her in a bid to calm her down. He knew instantly from his innate ability to read emotions that our leaving was not as simple as it appeared, but as I flickered my eyes to meet his all I saw was pure confusion; he didn't know what to make of what he felt.

_'We'll talk when we're alone.'_

I shot him a grateful look for not deciding to voice his thoughts aloud when Alice wasn't looking, my eyes trailing to the ground as I spoke next. "Jasper, would you care to go hunting with me?"

All of my family at that point- excluding Jasper who knew what I was thinking- looked at me with equally curious expressions as they tried to guess at why I would ask such a request. They knew I was fine to go hunting on my own and that ever since Bella was turned into a vampire I rarely chose my partners, usually my family just took turns filling the position. Out of all of them it was Esme in which the majority of curiosity changed into concern, her maternal instincts driving her instantly to my side where she took the human motion of placing her hand on my forehead as if I might have a temperature. Not that vampires ever got ill anyway.

"Edward are you not feeling well? Perhaps you should get Carlisle to take a look at you," she fretted as she peered closely at my eyes. I groaned and cast a warning gaze at Carlisle not to come over before replying.

"Esme i'm fine. I just feel like hunting with Jasper. Jaz?" He smiled at Alice as he took his arms away to stand dutifully by my side, his expression unchanged as she glared coldly at him, especially when she didn't know what was happening. It wasn't like she was going to have to wait long to know in any case since Jasper was probably going to tell her all about it when he got back anyway, that is if Alice didn't find a way to kick Jacob to Antarctica first to see it herself.

"Be back soon."

I left them to deal with Jacob as we travelled in a northerly direction, stopping around 500 miles short of the Canadian border on a small island in Cascade Locks (**A/N** _I got this from google, so I may be wrong_ _as I live in England._) Jasper turned to me with an inquiring expression since we had spent the entire journey, his patience still allowing him to give me time to speak first. I fixated my gaze upon a leaf that fell onto my palm as I spoke, not wanting to see his reactions to my questions.

"What did you think?"

"Well, for one I know that Bella isn't going to see friends," Jasper said slowly, his own eyes soon drifting to the leaf in my hand as if he were as captivated by it as I pretended to be. "No one who would be seeing friends would feel like that. It was... I don't know. It was almost as if she felt it was evil to separate herself from you, but it wasn't like all the times she had to do it before. She felt as if she was hollow inside- when she spoke to you if I couldn't see her I wouldn't be able to determine there was someone there. She didn't emit any emotion whatsoever. I..."

I looked up at him as he trailed off, his eyes shutting as his arms wrapped around himself as if he had suddenly caught a chill. "It was horrible. I don't think she expected to see you again."

"Don't...think...?" I echoed, my voice failing on me as I repeated his words.

_Bella didn't think she was going to see me again?  
Where did she go?  
Why did she go?_

I could see Jasper clawing at his arms as my mind ran frantic, his chest heaving heavily as a result of my sudden emotional drop. Now that I thought of it, it was probably selfish of me to bring Jasper with me at all, especially when I already had predicted how I would react since I already knew from his mind I wouldn't like what I would hear. "Jasper... you should go."

_At least then he wouldn't be around an emotional black hole anymore._

Without any lingering strength in my body I sank slowly to my knees until they hit the cold earth underneath me, my eyes trailing randomly about the ground not knowing what to focus upon. Despite my dismissal Jasper came and sat down beside me, his ability on full reign as he tried to calm the looming depression that threatened to take me in.

"You have to remain strong Edward. What would Bella think if she saw you like this?" Jasper said, his unique gift managing to work its way through my stubborn shield and drawing my attention to him. "Didn't you promise Bella that you wouldn't let a repeat of last time happen? You never saw what that did to Alice- can you think of what _this_ might do to her? You know I can't let anything hurt her like that again, if I have to drag you to Bella myself to snap you out of this then I will."

"Me...to...Bella?" I asked, a confusion seeping into my tone at his words. "But she told me-"

"Does it matter, Edward? She went after you last time, so this time it is your time to go after her," he replied, stating it in such a way it was as if I should have known in the first place. He stood up after finishing and offered his hand down for me to take, pulling what mostly must have been dead weight to my feet. "You know cannot leave without saying goodbye to everyone however."

"I know," I murmured, offering a small smile to Jasper in gratitude as I had so many times in this one day alone. I couldn't stop my attention from drifting off into the trees as I vainly wished I could just go after her now, my heart yearning for me to just leave everything behind and leap headfirst into a blind chase created by my angel. But he was right. I couldn't leave everyone just like that without saying anything... especially not Esme...

"Go."

"What?" I turned back to him, my attention momentarily diverted back to Jasper.

"Go. I'll tell them- that is if Alice hasn't told them all yet," Jasper chuckled, his expression relaxing slightly from the stoic slate he had been adopting since my obviously distressing turmoil. I placed my hand on his shoulder and gave it a light shake before murmuring a quick thanks and sprinting back into the forest surrounding us, the trees flashing by causing me to remember the first time I ran Bella through Forks.

"No matter what you say, I will find you, Bella. I have an eternity at my disposal to look."

* * *

**A/N:**_ I'll probably write a preface to this story over the next few chapters, I just need to decide what i'm actually going to write in it, lol._


	3. Bella: Memorable Facades

**Chapter Three:** Memorable Facades  
_Bella's Perspective_

_What did I just do?  
Edward... I sent him away.  
No- I left him._  
_And it **hurts.**_

It was as if I had left a part of me behind at that small forest clearing, the very thing that gave me reason to exist, that justified my existence as something in this world. Despite this I knew I couldn't go back; especially not when it was this very piece of me that told my instincts I had to leave in the first place.

I couldn't tell exactly where I had decided to call my home since I never really excelled in Geography- all I could tell was that I was in a row of mountains somewhere in America, since I hadn't crossed the borders nor had I gotten on a plane and jetted off somewhere. Something inside me told me that I shouldn't leave the country completely because something was coming, but I just left that down to the fact I don't think I would have the strength to be even further away from him than I already was. As I was sitting on a ledge jutting out from the mountain that was a good 100ft or so in the air I was very grateful that I had become a vampire- the thinning air didn't affect me because I didn't need to breathe and if I was still a human I am pretty sure that scaling this rock would have been far out of my limits. When I was running I didn't leave much time to think about where I was headed, all I could think about was the conversation- the last conversation- I had with Edward.

--

_Flashback - Forest (Bella/Edward/Jasper/Jacob)_

"Edward, i'm leaving," I spoke in a controlled manner, not wanting to reflect any of the pain the words were causing me to speak. I wouldn't have minded this pain if Edward was there to see me through it by my side, but now was not a situation where I could willingly allow him to put himself in harm's way for me. That was one of the reasons why I came a vampire after all; so he _wouldn't_ need to anymore. I tried to sound as uncaring as possible as I spoke again but his crushing expression wanted me to do otherwise, the pain in my gut becoming near unbearable as his face bore the same pain I so sorely wished to express myself, even if it were only a fraction of the agony I felt inside. "I want you to carry on, okay? Don't come after me."

"Leaving? But... Bella, you can't! I don't know what i'll do without you!" He cried, his perfect angelic features falling behind a veil mixed with pain and desperation. "I can't live without you!"

Edward then pressed his soft lips to mine and for a moment I thought about giving up- the composure I had worked up for this very moment threatening to crumble underneath me. But I couldn't let myself break- I had to do it so he wouldn't come after me. He just _couldn't._ I lightly pressed my palm to his cheek and stood silently in his embrace for a short while, giving my memory the necessary time to record the moment for all eternity. He relaxed slightly as the seconds ticked slowly by, his eyes reaching for mine as I cupped his face gently in both my hands.

"I sometimes wish you could hear what I was thinking, just so you would understand," I murmured, my eyes taking in every minute detail of his face and committing it to memory as I had before. "I did hope that maybe it was just because I was a human but it seems that it didn't make much difference, i'm still as much of a one-person freak show as I was before."

He tensed once again at my words as I tried to combat it with a light joke, the apparant strain of effort on his part being that he was trying in vain to read my mind, but like the many times before we had tried we both knew it wouldn't work and he sighed; defeated once again.

"I do love you Edward. Until the day I die I always will, so promise me you'll remember that."

He pushed back a few strands of hair that fell across my eyes with his hand, his touch leaving tingling sensations in its path. "Then why are you leaving me? If you love me, then why don't you stay?"

The words he spoke overwhelmed me and I instantly felt my impassive demeanour crack and allow some of my own sadness to filter through, the secret I had tried to remain hidden seeping slowly into my eyes. I suddenly remembered something he had said to me before; one of the first things he said to me when I told him I was scared of him leaving me. "Because I love you enough so that if I had to leave for the sake of your life then I would."

Stepping back I freed his face from my hands and forced a smile onto my face as I glanced at Jacob and Jasper, their bewildered expressions reflecting the fierce curiosity that wanted them to know what our conversation had been about. I memorised these faces as I had done Edward, my heart wishing that I could have spoken to the rest of my vampire family before leaving- especially Alice.

"Look after Jake," I performed, intentionally raising my voice so the other two could hear, keeping my face blank as I tried not to allow any of my emotions to slip past my facade. It would have been easier if Jasper hadn't been here to have a read on the emotions I wasn't expressing, but I couldn't help that now. I heard Edward speak that he loved me but I couldn't muster the strength to say it back and keep my charade going so instead I just chose a simple answer instead that of the automatic; something I had never done before.

"I know Edward," I sighed, my heart breaking into ever-smaller pieces with each syllable that passed my lips. I gave one last look at the sea of faces through my blurred vision before me before turning my back on them all, the tears that I had kept back for so long now falling freely down my face as I left the clearing, the water droplets coating the jade blades of our meadow as I ran through it with no direction set in mind. The longer I thought about where I was going I knew I would be more tempted to find a place that he would find me again, so instead I chose the looming grey monument that soon appeared before me as my new home, the lonely mountains echoing the emptiness I felt inside.

--

The downside of being a vampire came with the plaguing thirst that heightened as time passed, and mine had been pestering me ever more over the last few hours since the brunt of my energy from the last hunt had been used healing the wounds I received a few days before. Without realising it I ran my fingers over the stitches Carlisle had used to seal up the injury and sighed, my eyes soon trailing as they often did about the rock face, falling across a pair of elegant mountain lions. It seems that irony and fate had joined forces to put at least one thing in one of the most isolated places to remind me of him, placing the feline form of Edward here to test me. I pushed the memory of him to the back of my mind as I pushed myself off the ledge and fell the next six feet with a grace I couldn't claim in my mortal life, the fact that I had decided to quickly divert myself to the cottage Edward and I shared to change fulfilling its purpose now. I was pretty sure that remaining in the hospital clothes out here wouldn't be one of the best choices I could have made but neither was the pink baby doll dress that I was wearing now- but at least the dress was highly pratical in movement terms. It certainly wasn't the best for camouflage but I highly doubted I would meet anyone this far up plus I wasn't blessed with enough time to figure out different fabric scents other than satin and denim.

As I crouched downwind of the two magnificent creatures I couldn't help but marvel at their beauty- their elegance, flair and beauty was so akin to Edward's I could see why Emmett had compared the two. It was then that I felt an uncertainty creep over me. I had only had one hunting lesson before this but that was just on elks, and if i'm not mistaken I believe that lions are a lot different but luckily I had my vampire instincts to help bridge the gap inexperience made. With one perfectly executed leap I landed upon the back of the larger male, my teeth sinking into into the back of his neck to his cries allowing the refreshing warm liquid to trickle down my throat. However it wasn't as soothing as I thought it would be- in fact the burning in my throat seemed to protest against this foreign substance and as a result of my distraction I didn't see his mate launch at me, her claws and teeth sinking into my skin. I didn't allow myself time to assess what damage might have happened since I was pretty sure that no animal could tear my vampire skin, so instead I jumped back a few feet to separate me from them, dodging the half-hearted swipe the injured cat aimed towards me. As I landed my hand wound itself round my stomach as a fierce inferno erupted there, a whimper pushing past my lips as a pain I couldn't have even imagined before raged in my insides. It was certainly a lot more painful than any measly thirst I had before- it was like comparing a match to a volcano. I gave one weary look to the advancing pair and decided now was the time to return to the safety of the ledge; my body slumping on the cool rock underneath me as another wave of agony washed through me.

Moving onto my hands and knees I tried to resist the urge to throw up but it seemed like my stomach had different ideas, deciding to hurl the contents upon the floor, staining the ledge red with the blood I had just drank. I rolled to the side onto my back and laid out staring up at the twilight, my mind not having realised until now how long I had really spent travelling here until I saw the sky darken with my own eyes. Another thing I suddenly realised was the light twinge that ran down my arm as I moved it a fraction, my eyes widening as I saw a blood trail of my own emerging from a trio of distinct claw marks. Claw marks I never expected to see.

"It's beginning..." I murmured, my fingers tracing the three lines with the lightest touch I could muster. I exhaled a sigh while I closed my eyes to shut out the truth of my situation allowing the water that had been collecting at the sides of my eyes to fall, casting my mind back to to where I had first noticed the change.

--

_Flashback - Hospital (Bella/Edward)_

"Edward?" I whispered in a voice I could barely distinguish as mine, my eyelids fluttering as I willed them to open to escape from the darkness I was in. My body felt heavy as I finally was greeted with the sight of a white, tiled ceiling, followed shortly with the sight of my vampire family when I shifted my gaze to the side. They seemed to be engaged deep within their conversations for they seemed oblivious to me waking, giving me the opportunity to shift my body from the bed and stand on my feet for what felt like the first time in years. I clutched onto the side of the bed for support as my feet threatened to disappear from underneath me, feeling my way along the wall to the nearby bathroom to see how bad I truly was that I had to be in the hospital and not back at the Cullen home.

With a short stumble to the mirror I immediately zeroed in on the bandage wrapped around my shoulder, grimacing slightly as I ran my fingers under the material and over the various bumps in my skin. The broken bones I thought I had seemed to have already healed in the time I had been unconscious- probably aided by my new and improved vampire immune system. However from where I had been focusing on the more obvious injuries I had received I didn't realise the difference in my facial features- it wasn't deformed or anything like that, but the freakish person I had gotten used to seeing had been replaced with someone different. Their eyes were no longer the chilling scarlet but a strange violet colour; a colour unknown to both human and vampire. I reached up and watched as my mirror image mimicked my fingers running down my cheek, my mind unsure if the person there was actually me. Blinking didn't help either as they were still there every time I opened my eyes again, remaining in silence as if to prove that they were me.

"What's happened to me?" I breathed, my eyes still wearily watching each action I made that my reflection copied with perfection. I kept this up this aimless motion until Edward suddenly appeared in the doorway, still dazzling me despite the obvious look of pained worry on his face. This look did soften slightly as he resumed his usual position with his arms locked around me, his face burying itself into my hair as I continued to stare at the person in the mirror. He didn't seem to notice the change in me that I had, his embrace somehow feeling not as comforting as it usual was.

"Would you love me even if I changed?" I asked suddenly, my eyes kept busy watching their violet cousins as his breath curled on my neck, his lips caressing the length of my neck as I closed my eyes, falling into the euphoria he was creating. Another motive laid behind me closing my eyes as he performed his reply, that being that I didn't want him to see the ugly orbs that seemed to look wrong whatever way you looked at them. Despite this I wasn't allowed to keep them shut for long as he gave me a light shake, forcing my gaze to the picturesque couple embracing in the silver surface. I tensed in his arms until I locked upon my reflection's eyes, the scarlet spheres that stared back at me in fear being oddly comforting.

"I will always love you Bella; no matter what happens."

My mind settled slightly at his words for a minute or two as he reached in to kiss the base of my neck until a wounded wolf's cry shattered the silence, casting my body out of its dreamlike stance in Edward's embrace and to the small window posed opposite my bed overlooking the forest.

--

_Seven months later_

Over the next few months I filled my time with a gift that just appeared out of the blue one day, an ability that put me into one of those small groups of unique vampires along with Edward, Alice and Jasper. It certainly did explain why Edward could never hear my thoughts since my power was something along the lines of mental manipulation, where I could theoretically get anything I wanted through sheer mental prowess alone. When it came to Edward I decided on the explanation that I had somehow sub-consciously formed a connection with his telepathy and forced it to not to read my mind- or at least that was as far as I could figure out. A very frustrating thing with it however was that I could never single it out as a particular thing unlike Edward's telepathy or Alice's precognition; mine just seemed to be a whole mess of everything.

For one thing I found after some random coincidence that I could move objects with just a simple gesture in my eyes and that to some degree I could also mimic Edward's ability- but it was more of listening to their past memories than their thoughts, and even then that worked scarcely, very much so when I found out I could only listen to what they didn't close off from me. The final part of this overall ability was perhaps the most fun and interesting to use; especially when it meant I could make pretty much anything with a brain my own personal puppet. It was quite fun to watch hikers frequently walk in circles thanks to me, their bemused faces enough to put a smile on my face. This led on to the superstition amongst hikers that this mountain was haunted; heightened moreso because of various times where my laughs echoed down to the people hiking below. After more people began to believe this idea less people frequented my mountain so I ran out of subjects for my games so instead I climbed higher to the submit and watched the different cars pass on the highway a long distance away.

It definitely was a lonely existence but despite this it was also one I was content with; the various animals that had called these mountains there home soon accepting the fact that I wasn't going to attack them anymore since I hadn't been feeding lately. I found that anytime I tried to quench the thirst I felt with blood I was met with the all too similar protest and rejection of the liquid, so instead I just compromised and didn't try again. A result of this was that my energy was now pretty much non-existent these days, not really finding point to move from the laying position I have inhabited on the summit for the past week or so. Along with this came the subject of Edward; as the hours passed I found that the gaping hole he had left in my heart had dulled over time to just a dull ache, the image that I had committed to memory blurring along with the other images of my slowly forgotten family.

As the same, agonizing feeling rose from the pit of my stomach once again I shifted my body to the side and raised my hand to my mouth, the sickly cough that arose from my throat painting my palm in a scarlet coating. This had been occurring for the last few weeks and over that period had become ever more frequent; increasing from perhaps once every four or so days to at least twice a day, if not more. I slumped back and stared uselessly up at the overcast sky as the rain began to fall, the small raindrops sliding down my cheeks accompanying my own tears on their journey to the ground.

As I wiped away the tears collecting at the edges of my eyes I coated my cheeks with the blood that had stained my hand, the rain soon spreading the liquid across my face, making it look almost as if I had cried this scarlet substance. I couldn't say exactly how long I stayed in that position as the storm continued, my mind disallowed any room to think as thunder ripped across it and lightning flashed across the sky. It was complete darkness when noise other than that of the weather spoke to me, their tone of voice sounding rather amused as they did.

"Most people I know don't like the rain. Are you not cold?"

I didn't even bother to turn and look at the source of the voice as I replied, my own words sounding foreign to me since I hadn't actually used it in quite some time. "I don't like the rain much either."

"Then why don't you find shelter?" They inquired, their voice indicating to me that they were male. A short silence followed as I gave my mind enough time to register his question, the reply I gave echoing the loneliness buried deep inside.

"Because I have nothing to live for."

As they crossed to my side I caught a glimpse of the rather ornate cloak they were wearing, the effort put into the intricacy of the patterns lining the hem causing me to assume that they must be from some sort of nobility. This of course made me wonder why they were bothering to speak to someone like me, but since he had pulled the large hood that accompanied the coat across his head I couldn't see the person behind it. I instead chose to remain impassive as I fixated my gaze upon one particularly bright constellation of stars, catching a glimpse of the stranger's eyes as he crouched down beside, the scarlet eyes filled with curiosity as they delved into my own.

"Your eyes... they are quite something," he murmured, obviously taken by the vivid violet colour my eyes had decided to remain upon after a couple of months of flickering between my human colour of brown and vampire colour of red. At first I was fond of them but the novelty soon wore off so I did not share his interest in them; if anything I hated them, as they singled me out as more of a loner then I was if I were just a simple red-eyed vampire living here on their own.

"I prefer yours."

"Why would you prefer mine?"

"They remind me of you I once was," I replied wistfully, my hand sorely wishing to reach up to him.

"Who you once was?" He asked, clearly confused from my answer.

"I used to have them too. I miss them..." Without realising it I ran my numbed fingers down the side of his cheek, a small smile that I didn't know I had beginning to form on my blue lips. My hand soon ran out of cheek and as a result fell limp to my side as my tiny energy reserves diminished, surprising the male as he noticed how weak I had become.

"Miss, may I ask when the last-"

"Bella," I interrupted, not truly caring that I cut him off in mid-sentence.

"Pardon?"

"Bella. My name," I responded simply, my eyes still looking up lovingly at the perfectly scarlet of his. "You called me miss."

"Oh," he said, the confused look he had held melting away as his lips curled up into a smile. "Bella, don't you think you should go hunting?"

"I don't hunt." I allowed my gaze to trail to the side where it settled upon the two lions I had once attacked, their cubs dancing around their ankles as they ushered them back inside the small cave they had taken as shelter from the rain. "It has been about six months since I last tried to hunt. I can't be more specific as I forget the days."

He seemed shocked when I said this, which just spurred on my own confusion. The first few months were hard and I couldn't deny that, but after that I didn't even notice the burn in my throat and now the survival instinct that usually told my mind to hunt had faded into nothing. All I had to deal with now was the coughing fits that occurred every so often, and even then they just seemed to slot into my daily routine. "Does that surprise you?"

"Well of course! I haven't heard of someone going this long... a month maybe but not like this," he said, his gaze glancing over my glaringly obvious frail state as he began to think over the information I had given him.

"It just became part of my nature considering I can't drink blood anymore," I explained, my hand raising to stifle the yawn that pushed past my lips. My eyes drooped slightly as the little efforts of the day reminded me of my exhaustion, my body soon drifting slowly to sleep as he remained silent. I was just watching a string of blurred memories as a light shake threw them from my mind's sight, my eyes opening under protest to gaze wearily back at the man.

"Can you actually sleep?" He inquired, his curiosity being the reason his further shaking prevented me from falling back into a dreaming state.

"Sometimes, but not all the time," I mumbled, my body struggling to keep the heavy weights that were my eyes from falling shut again. "I can usually sleep when I am very tired though."

He stood up at that point, his hand tapping against his chin as he paced in a ring around me. "Are you human, Bella?"

I shook my head.

"Vampire?"

I shook a gain.

"Werewolf?"

While this spurred another no to his thoughts he then decided to list a string of names that I hadn't even heard before, each time resulting in a shake and a defeated grunt as he admitted defeat.

"I don't know what I am. I _had_ once been human and I _had_ once been vampire, but now..." I guessed he was unhappy with my answer as he picked up his circular pacing again, my mind counting at least seventeen rings before he finally stopped. His eyes lightened up from under the hood as he turned to me, looking as if someone had just told him he had one the lottery.

"Come with me."

"What?" I said confused, my face screwing up as I tried to figure out what he meant. Did he want _me_ to go with _him_?

"Come with me. To Italy. I'll even carry you if you like- someone might be able to help you there." He extended his hand to me and waited patiently for my answer, his smile returning as I willed my hand into his, my body easily being lifted on his part. He unfastened the long cloak he had been wearing and draped it round my shoulders with no explanation as to why, the spiky tawny hair that had been hidden underneath the hood instantly flattening against his head as a result of the rain. I didn't really know why I was leaving the safety of the summit but the offer of his companionship was something my inner loneliness didn't allow me to send away, so instead I found my frozen limbs locked into place around his waist and neck as we raced down the mountain. He rested his hands on mine that wound around his neck as I felt the home I had adopted for past months move further away with each passing second, the comfort of my mountain now passing onto the vampire that I had pushed it onto.

"You never told me your name."

"I didn't?" He replied with a hint of thought, his head turning slightly so that I could gaze into those scarlet eyes I wish I still had.

"I'm Corin."

* * *

**A/N: **A semi-in depth explanation of Bella's ability.

_Bella's Power: _Mental Manipulation

- _Mild form of telepathy;_ however she does not read the thoughts of the time, but listens in to memories that passes every once in a while across one's mind. There are limitations to this, as if there is a particular memory someone has pushed back Bella will not be able to access it herself, as she doesn't have the power to delve deep into someone's memories.

- _Average ability with telekinesis;_ Bella can move things with her mind but has to accompany this with some sort of gesture, her favourable one being that of her eyes since it can be easily concealed when compared to a wave of the hand. She hasn't experimented much with this part of her ability so she does not know the extent of her limits, or how powerful this could be.

- _Subtle mastery over mental persuasion;_ With his Bella can instruct anything with sufficient mental capability to bend to her will, and in effect she can assume complete control over them without the subject truly realising what is happening. She does this by inserting an idea into the subject's hand which they then believe to be their own and dutifully performs it. As she has experimented this gift with both animals and people (the hikers on the mountain) she has achieved an almost complete mastery over it but still finds that sometimes with particularly stubborn individuals they can disagree with her ideas.


End file.
